Cancer researchers at four major institutions are joining Meriden-based Intus Biosciences, LLC (Intus Bio) after the company received a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Fast-Track award to develop a non-invasive colorectal cancer screening test.
The $2.7 million award funds "Non-Invasive, Bacterial-Based Early-Onset Colorectal Screen," bringing together investigators including Dr. Cynthia Sears of Johns Hopkins University, Dr. David Drew, Dr. Long Nguyen and Dr. Andrew Chan of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Lynn Butterly and Dr. Joseph Anderson of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and Dr. Martha Shrubsole and Dr. Reid Ness of Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Early-onset colorectal cancer is now the most common cancer among Americans under 50, with incidence rising roughly 3% annually in adults ages 20 to 49.
Nearly three in four early-onset cases are diagnosed only after the disease has spread beyond the colon, in part because current screening guidelines begin at age 45. The project centers on Intus Bio's Titan-1 platform, which generates and analyzes high-resolution bacterial DNA sequencing data to identify biomarkers and assemble AI-powered diagnostic algorithms, including bacteria not previously named or recorded in databases.
Paul Denslow, CEO and Co-Founder of Intus Bio, said, "Intus Bio was founded to make the microbiome as important to healthcare as it is to our health. This award is a major milestone towards that goal and also underscores the revolutionary potential of our Titan-1 platform."
The study aims to detect precancerous lesions that precede cancer, offering an opportunity to prevent the disease before it develops.
Mark Driscoll, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder of Intus Bio and Principal Investigator, said, "Non-invasive detection of early-onset colorectal cancer is a serious and growing unmet need, which our collaborators — all leading experts in the field — believe the groundbreaking Titan-1 can address. Success in this effort will herald an entirely new class of diagnostics, with the potential to transform our approach to multiple diseases."
